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The red “GOP” logo used by the party for its website (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been slammed by infographics, sad little stories about people affected negatively by the economy, and anti-Obamacare memes from my Republican friends. I am pretty good at laughing at the ones that deserve laughs and giving thought to the ones that deserve consideration.

Then I came across this post and it made me think, “Are Republicans betraying their values?” Actually, I wondered if maybe Republicans could just be going back to the values that they were supposed to have.

It led to find the Republican Oath.

I am a Republican because:

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I BELIEVE THE proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations; the best government is that which governs least.

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

I BELIEVE the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Have you ever read the oath before? Well, as far as I know this oath is still the one that the party uses.

I think it would be good to notice what is not in the oath.

The pro-life stance: Nope, by being a Republican I do not have to believe that abortion is murder. Actually as a republican I should be ensuring that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility be honored.

English: Memorial to women who died from illegal unsafe abortions at major pro-choice rally in Washington, DC, November 12, 1989. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do I find Abortion morally wrong? Yes, and I personally would not have one unless my life was in danger, but that is only my opinion and I believe that each person should have the freedom to decide for themselves and that people should have the ability to rely their own beliefs on this subject, when they make this kind of decision.

Gun Control: The oath says nothing about the 2nd amendment. What it does say is that we should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

Gun Control Hartford CT (Photo credit: john bunce)

Is peace, freedom, and human rights protected because some Americans can legally own guns? Maybe. Honestly, I will never own a gun and they scare me. What I do think is that most gun owners do not use their guns to kill people (although I have no data to prove or disprove my thoughts on this).

Religion: Religion is not mentioned at all. What it does mention is that Republicans should believe in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age, or disability. What that means to me is that we should believe in allowing people to believe in whatever gods they would like or not believe in god (if that is their choice).

Christian Stone Cross (Photo credit: freefotouk)

So should their be prayer in school? I personally would not mind saying a prayer, but I also believe that it should not be mandatory or part of the school day. Should we talk about evolution in school? Yep, because retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times. Well, if we think of the principles of the oath as the principles that will keep the party strong, then where is the problem with evolution?

The challenge is provide the healthcare system that can encompass everyone, but still provides people with the affordable, convenient and high-quality care that we are used to. I am still not sure that can be done.

Immigration and Illegal aliens: Again nothing in the oath about how we should feel about recent immigration policies, but it does state value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world, and it makes me wonder are they fleeing their countries to achieve these things.

Immigration Reform Rally 2010 (Photo credit: Anuska Sampedro)

Also, if we believe in free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity, then should we not be valuing their part in our economic system? Now, don’t get me wrong I am sure there are some people that are abusing the system (since you can find people of all races abusing the system), but I think we also have to realize that there are also people that are illegally here that contribute to our communities and economy.

Gay Marriage: This is where I think the parts about equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability because just because two people are the same sex does not mean they should not have the same rights to marriage as heterosexual couples.

Gay Marriage in San Francisco (Photo credit: Dave Schumaker)

That leads me to the part of the oath that says developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times and homosexual couples are pretty mainstream now. They are having children and creating families that are strong and based on love. Providing children with a strong family and contributing to our communities are great ideals and they are doing that and now our government needs to be the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

So there you have it. I could keep writing, but I think the oath says everything that needs to be said. You may not agree with how I have interpreted the oath (which is fine because we are free to interpret it based on our own experiences and beliefs), but I hope you can see that saying that the moderate republicans are “betraying republican values” is a little suspect and maybe some of the more conservative republicans should look at the oath again and think about how their values fit into it before throwing others in the party under the bus.